


down for the count (and I’m drownin’ in ‘em)

by bluelovesstuff



Category: Cow Chop
Genre: M/M, Supermarket!AU, aleks is blond!, james has a bun!, title: stolen from Hamilton™, trevor is a supportive coworker!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 05:51:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11284992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluelovesstuff/pseuds/bluelovesstuff
Summary: Only a handful of seconds go by before James replies.Come on Wilson, think of something cool to say, he chants.You only get one chance, he thinks.“So, when did you decide to dye your hair that color?”Trevor fumbles and drops the box of whole-grain cereal he was scanning.





	down for the count (and I’m drownin’ in ‘em)

**Author's Note:**

> cause ya’ girl saw a cute bag boy (bagger ?? packer ?? courtesy clerk ????) when checking out at the supermarket and I felt like I was in a movie. This takes place in the present, in L.A., just in an au that is inspired by a recent conversation CCTV #3.

James enjoys the inactivity of grocery stores during the late nights he visits them. The peace and calmness guaranteed to be present during nighttime hours are a blessing. The aisles are empty, save for the occasional employee stocking vacant shelves, and there is a simple freedom in having the ability to push his basket up and down them.

 

In the moment, he’s bagging a few bell peppers, whistling to himself and trying to decide what type of new juice to try this week for smoothies. Brett, his personal trainer and close friend, has gotten him on a health kick and shopping for groceries has never been more complicated.

 

Within half an hour he’s gotten heaps of groceries piled into his cart and he’s ready to check out. He leans on the handles of the basket, stifling a yawn as he turns his wrist to see it’s a little over two in the morning.

 

As he approaches the group of self-checkout registers, he hesitates. He has at least a week’s worth of groceries in his cart and the likelihood he’ll fuck-up and receive a ‘ _please wait for assistance_ ’ scolding by one of the registers is high.

 

He glances over at the light of a single cashier register that remains open. He isn’t in the mood for conversation right now and he almost _always_ checks out on his own at self-checkout, but for a reason unknown he pushes his basket into into the small aisle.

 

The cashier is younger than James would expect them to be at this hour. He supposes that most universities are out for the year and the seemingly twenty-something man needs a summer job, but he would’ve never taken a job that has such _terrible_ hours such as 2 in the morning.

 

The younger man has his strange, apparently dyed, almost orangish blond hair tucked under a baseball cap and he’s a little taller than him with a little more bulk to his build.

 

When the aproned cashier finally notices he has a customer, he gives James a small smile.

 

“Hi, did you find everything you need?” He asks.

 

James places his groceries on the conveyor belt and notices that the man’s name tag reads ‘ _Trevor_ ’. It strangely suits him and his warm eyes.

 

James gives him a nod and continues to pile the items onto the moving conveyor, “Hopefully. I’m a little out of it tonight.”

 

Trevor lets out a laugh as he scans each item and sets it aside, “Well, you’re keeping me awake, if that means anything.”

 

James pushes his empty cart forward, “Stuck with the late hours?”

 

Trevor huffs and nods his head, “It’s good money and few people come in here past midnight.” He shrugs with a joking smile, “I mean, most of the people that buy stuff after midnight in L.A. are pretty weird anyway, so it’s just some extra entertainment for me during work.”

 

James raises a brow, mouth curling into a smile, “Am I weird, then?”

 

Trevor opens his mouth to reply, but is cut off by another voice near the front of the store.

 

“Two-thirty in the morning is kind of late to be shopping for groceries, so yes, I would consider you a little strange.”

 

James’ head turns at the sound and is welcomed with the sight of box-dyed, blond hair and a green apron. A small smile sits on his lips and James doesn’t have time to reply as the man moves to bag his groceries for him.

 

James almost chokes on air at how good-looking he is. He has a lean frame and arms covered in an array of colors- _is that a fucking astronaut on his arm?_

 

Usually, James is cool and content in situations like this. Well, he usually keeps to _himself_ in situations like this, but he’s still polite. He usually thanks the cashier, takes the bags thankfully from whoever is bagging them, and places them into the basket with ease.

 

So why does James feel his stomach drop with _embarrassment_ and feel nervousness gather in his chest.

 

Why the fuck can he not look this guy in the eye now?

 

He isn’t _this_ person. James Wilson doesn’t avoid bag boys’ eyes. It’s rude.

 

It shouldn’t matter if they are extremely and abnormally too charming to be in a grocery store at 2 a.m.

 

James finally gathers the courage to glance back over at the man to see that the name tag he has pinned to his apron has the name ‘ _Aleks_ ’ printed onto it. James wonders if it’s uniquely Aleks or if it’s short for something like Alex is for Alexander. He also wonders if he has to tell everyone he encounters how it’s spelt.

 

Only a handful of seconds go by before James replies. _Come on Wilson_ , think of something cool to say, he chants. _You only get one chance_ , he thinks.

 

“So, when did you decide to dye your hair that color?”

 

Trevor fumbles and drops the box of whole-grain cereal he was scanning.

 

Aleks tilts his head as if he truly believed he could’ve been born as a bleached blond, a smile on his face that opens with a soft laugh, “Is it that obvious that this isn’t my natural color?”

 

James smiles nervously and reaches behind his head to brush his finger over his hair pulled into its loose bun - it’s one of his new nervous ticks - and notices that Aleks does the same as he ruffles the short blond hairs.

 

He uses the same hand to gesture to Aleks’ dark eyebrows, “Your eyebrows kind of gave it away.” He jokes.

 

Trevor glances between them as he continues to scan the groceries with pressed lips as if he’s suppressing a grin. Neither of them notice.

 

Aleks places the first batch of bags into James’ basket and shakes his head humorously as if in despair, “Man, I thought it looked real.” He points to Trevor’s own hair and holds a hand over one side of his mouth as if he’s sharing confidential information with James, “Trevor was brave enough to dye it at home with me, but he’s a little insecure about it, so don’t point out how terrible his looks.”

 

Trevor makes an offended noise and slides a plastic box of grapes passive-aggressively to the blond, “C’mon man, give me a break. I will get it fixed this weekend.”

 

James covers his mouth with his fist to smother another laugh as Aleks mumbles something about ‘ _actually reading the directions_ ’ and Trevor being a ‘ _fucking idiot_ ’ with a smile.

 

It somehow saddens James when Trevor tells him the total. Their little interaction has to come to end. James gives Trevor his credit card, tells the two of them to have a nice night, and feels a sickeningly sweet sensation in the pit of his stomach as he leaves the store.

 

* * *

 

 

James returns to the store the next Monday night for a new batch of groceries. Los Angeles’ heat remains even in the late hours of the night and James climbs out of his cool, air-conditioned car with regret.

 

The feeling is quickly replaced as he enters the store to sole-cashier Trevor waving at him. James smiles, gestures to a long list of groceries, and grabs a basket. Going through the list, he begins at the back of the store and makes his way through the aisles to the front where the produce section lies.

 

In the midst of Googling how to judge the ripeness of strawberries, there’s the sound of something _crashing_ behind him.

 

He turns, blinks in disbelief, and takes in the scene of a shattered wooden box with red apples scattered across the produce section. Aleks, of all people, stands in the middle of it all; a hand rubbing the back of his neck.

 

Aleks smiles at him, “ _Manbun_ , you came back!” He says as if a catastrophe hadn’t just unfolded.

 

James shakes his head and smiles, reaching down to pick up some of the apples that rolled near his feet. Aleks does the same, wiping each apple off slightly with his apron.

 

James eyes the blond as he picks up one of the last apples and places them in the display, “How did you drop these in the first place?” He asks with a smile.

 

Aleks gestures to the large wooden box, “If you had to carry that thing all the way from the back, you’d drop it too.”

 

Trevor pushes his way past the section with a cart full of soda, eyes never leaving his phone in his other hand, “He was so ecstatic when I told him you were here that he snatched the apples out of my hands and insisted that he take them over here.”

 

Aleks scowls at his coworker’s back as he disappears from sight and James watches in amusement as he turns to look back at him.

 

“You were excited to see me?”

 

“ _Pfft_ , I don’t even know your name,” Aleks pauses and crosses his arm in a way that James can only assume the blond believes to be macho. “I was going to save Trevor from carrying them anyway since I owe him some money.”

 

James rolls his eyes jokingly and thinks this is the lightest he’s felt in awhile, “It’s James.”

 

Aleks purses his lips and nods, as if considering the name as he eyes dark-haired man, “Well, you already know my name, so I guess we’re even now, _James_.”

 

The blond glances over at James’ full cart and points to the registers, “When you’re ready to check-out, I’ll be at register four since Trevor is stocking back there.”

 

James grins, “How kind of you, _Aleks_.”

 

He swears he sees Aleks trip a little as he walks backwards and out of his sight.

 

* * *

 

 

After being checked-out and bidding goodbye to Aleks and Trevor, James exits empty grocery and makes his way to car. He reasons that, with only two cars being in the parking lot and one of them being his, the silver _Camaro_ is Aleks’. He smiles at the small dog plush dangling on the car’s rear view mirror.

 

James opens the back of his car and places his bags of groceries to find a note slipped into one bag. Raising his brow, he unfolds it to find a hastily written message and what looks to be a phone number.

 

‘ _Hope this isn’t too weird, but maybe we could talk during times other than every Monday at 2 o’clock in the morning. Aleks :)_ ’

 

James enters the number into his phone’s contacts as soon as he enters his car.

 

* * *

 

 

Aleks works Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights at the grocery store. This equates to James expecting mischief-filled Snapchats from the blond and Trevor during late hours in the night.

 

One of his favorites had been Aleks hiding in the paper towel aisle behind bulks of rolls only to launch out at the signal of Trevor’s feet and scare him.

 

James has also realized through these sent pictures and videos that Aleks _really_ wears sunglasses indoors way too much, but that fact makes him attached to the man even more.

 

* * *

 

 

As it turns out, James and Aleks both have Brett as a personal trainer at their gym. They work out they’ve never seen each other before due to their conflicting schedules and decide to change that ever so slowly.

 

They start off with walking their dogs through one of L.A.’s parks. Ein and Mishka convince the men to allow them to splash around in the park’s expansive lake and the two owners soon realize it was a mistake as the pair of dogs walk out of the park covered in mud.

 

James often calls Aleks up to offer lunch or a simple dinner out. Most of their meals begin with a small portion of arguing about what to order or who will pay, but laughter quickly takes up the table. James acts appalled when he learns that Aleks uses an iPhone, but Aleks just calls him old teasingly and laughs as James throws a cherry tomato at him from his salad.

 

Aleks’ sleeping schedule is so fucked up that James often visits him during the day, opening the door with the key Aleks gave him -- he tried to act as though it wasn’t a significant moment, giving him a spare key, but James knew otherwise since the key bought was his favorite shade of green -- and entering the living room to see a passed out Aleks on the couch.

 

James does what he always does in these situations. He tiptoes into the house, grabs Aleks’ favorite and odd cow-printed blanket that was tossed on the ground mid-sleep, and places it back on the blond. He then greets Mishka in the kitchen and lets her slip out into the backyard to play with Ein; whom James had released through the yard’s gate.

 

They slip into routine with each other.

 

When they both visit Brett for the first time to work as a pair -- as really good _friends_ \-- he doesn’t believe them when they state they met at a grocery store at 2 a.m.

 

* * *

 

 

A handful of weeks slip by until James has the courage to kiss the tank-top wearing, snarky idiot.

 

It’s one of those Fridays when they to stay in at Aleks’ house because he didn’t get enough sleep during the day before his shift started. Aleks is already half-asleep when James arrives and the blond can only poorly gesture to a paused television episode that sits on the living room’s screen.

 

James rolls his eyes, unpauses the episode, and grabs a blanket as he wedges himself on the couch beside the younger man. It’s one of Aleks’ old and worn Transformer blankets he’s kept with him for some extended amount of years.

 

Aleks said a while ago he should be honored to use it and James couldn’t tell if he was serious or joking in that moment.

 

Half an hour passes and James has a knee pulled up to his chin as he waits on the edge of his seat to find out who the killer was from the episode. He always teases Aleks for watching shows such as this one, but he finally understands why he binge watches them so often.

 

The killer is revealed to be one of the thought to be victims of the crime and James’ mouth drops.

 

“ _Aleksandr_ , what kind of fucking show is this? That little girl was just found to be guilty of-”

 

He turns to look at the blond, but finds him closer than he thought him to be as his shoulder touches his own. Aleks is laughing at him, eyes still on the television screen, and he’s hitting James’ knee with his hand. The room’s suddenly warmer than James thought he set the thermostat to and he swallows a lump stuck in his throat.

 

And just like that, he decides to appreciate the warmth.

 

Taking Aleks by surprise, he takes his hand and intertwines their fingers. He turns to face him and tilts his head ever so slightly so that his lips could meet the other’s.

 

It’s a slow kiss at first. Aleks doesn’t freeze up, but it seems he doesn’t know how to quite function as James moves his other hand to sit on Aleks’ cheek.

 

Aleks pulls away and shoves him, a smile on his face, “Took you long enough, manbun.”

 

James grins, “Okay, first of all, I feel _fucking attacked_. You love my hair, you know you do. Secondly, you could’ve done anything at any time, _bag boy_ -”

 

Aleks tackles him again with a another long awaited kiss to shut him up.

 

No one ever believes them when they say they first met in a supermarket at 2 in the morning, but they don’t care anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> yes, the title is from Hamilton™ and yes James is singing ‘[Helpless](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30N4rPZuUMc)’ throughout this entire thing. ( + this is trash compared to all the fake chop aus I've been seeing)


End file.
